Let’s hike to the top of Tetakawi, he said, it will be fun he said…

Tetakawi/Teta de Cabra in the background.

February 14th, Valentine’s Day, Rick decided we would take the day off from working on the boat and take a hike up to Cerro del Tetakawi (native Yaqui language for “rocky mountains”) aka Teta de Cabra (goat tit). We can see this San Carlos icon every day on our drive to Marina Real (where the boat is in the work yard) and you can see it off in the distance from just about anywhere in San Carlos. And each time we drive past the trailhead to Tetakawi we always say that we should hike up to the top one day. What better day than Valentine’s Day!

So after eating a small bowl of fruit, topped with a dollop of yogurt & a few walnuts (not the best pre-hike/mountain climbing meal…which we came to realize later), we exchanged Valentine’s Day cards and headed out. We made a quick stop at the OXXO for two small bottles of water and then drove down the road a bit and parked the car in the designated parking area for hikers making the hike up the mountain. There was only one other car in the lot. The weather was mid 70’s, and a little cloudy…so I wore my fleece jacket…just in case. Another thing I regretted later. 

Off we went not really prepared for a long hike with only two bottles of water, me wearing boat/water sandals (inappropriate for hiking), no snacks i.e. protein bars, fruit or nuts, and no water for Harley. We didn’t think it was going to be a very strenuous or a very long hike. 

Great for walking and on the boat...not so great for hiking.

330 ml...not enough water period.

The trail starts off on a relatively easy uphill trail, then about 30 minutes into the hike as the incline becomes steeper, your footing becomes very unstable walking on loose rocks. I had to sit down several times to catch my breath. Rick and Harley were way up ahead taking big strides with ease. But as I would sit a minute, I enjoyed some great views! I thought for a split second each time I sat, why should I climb to the top…the views are pretty incredible right here. But I had to see the view from the other side of the mountain…the view of the Sea of Cortez and all of it’s vastness. And, the only way to see that was to go to the top. Further and further as we climbed you had to use your hands and your feet. There was no upright standing involved. Rick would shout down to me now and again asking me if I was ok. I responded quickly with a “Yes! I’m coming!” I really appreciated him checking in on me and it helped me to keep going and to not give up. I wanted him to be proud of me and to know that I wasn’t a quitter! 

Starting of the trail...easy...no problem!

Path turned from dirt & rocks to more dirt & boulders

View from one of my resting spots

Rick and Harley almost to the top

Rick...not even breaking a sweat..

It got warmer as the morning progressed, so I took my fleece off and wrapped it around my waste. Harley was panting like crazy and her tongue was practically touching the ground. Rick had no complaints. 

You're kidding me...we're not even half way yet?

A man and his wife in their late 40’s came down the hill as we were climbing up, carrying back packs, wearing gloves and hiking shoes. The man appeared to be quite spry but the wife was huffing and puffing and sliding on some loose rocks on her way by. We asked them about the trail to the top, to see if it was any better as you go..they said, “no!” The man told us he went to the very top of the mountain and that his wife only hiked to as far as she could and waited for him to climb up to the top and come down. I asked myself…if this woman in her 40’s couldn’t make it, how was I going to? But on the other hand I was even more determined to make it. 

Before the couple completely passed us by, the man noticed that Harley was obviously thirsty and offered his remaining bottle of water to us, since they were on their way down and would get water once they got back to their car. I gratefully accepted and poured water in my hand so that Harley could drink from it. She drank so fast that she choked on the water and spit it all back out. Rick came down to where we were and took the bottle for me so that I wouldn’t have to carry it. Such a gentleman. 

Trail becoming quite steep

Finally we got close to the top which looked even steeper, so Rick said he’d go check it out and find the best route. Well he got up to the very top and then came down part way to where I was to let me know it was way too difficult and really difficult to get down. So we took a path that went around to a flatter area between the two peaks where we were able to sit and see the Sea of Cortez on the other side. It was spectacular…jaw dropping! We sat in awe for a while, catching our breath enjoying the views. I took several pictures and sipped on my water occasionally. Harley was still panting uncontrollably and never did calm down. We tried giving her more water which she drank and spit up. 

Just approaching the top

We made it!

Relaxing and staring out at the Sea

So now for the hike down! I was glad to be going down but not looking forward to it on the other hand because the day before I was walking in flip flops in an overgrown field with Harley where my big toe was pierced by a branch of thorns and one of the thorns made it’s way under my toenail and broke off. It hurt that day and it really hurt on our hike down the mountain because all of my weight seemed like it was pushing the thorn even deeper into my toe. Along with that pain, my sandals were riddled with small sharp rocks and dirt. Very uncomfortable! I didn’t even stop to dump them out because I knew they would just fill up again with more. I would just shake my shoes occasionally hoping to dislodge all of the debris.

The little red circle is where our car is parked....a tiny white dot.

As we got about half way down we noticed we could see the car a little clearer it was getting bigger. A sight for sore eyes! But as we got even closer and the car got a bit bigger, it sort of looked like a person was standing at the back driver’s side door, trying to break in! Rick then started running down the hill twisting and hurdling up and over boulders. I picked up the pace but felt there was no need to kill myself since Rick and Harley were going to get there before me anyway.  Rick was out of view after a certain point and I wasn’t too worried because I knew the path would be more visible the closer I got to the bottom. WRONG!

Still not seeing Rick, Harley or the parking lot, I came to a fork in the rocky path. One path was very clear but it went up a small hill (I thought that can’t be the one and definitely wasn’t climbing up another hill, no matter how small). The other path looked clear enough and it went around the small hill. That was the one I took. Unfortunately it was not the same path that Rick and Harley took. As I went further along this path…the path disappeared and all of a sudden I was surrounded by cactus, prickly bushes, branches and big rocks. I kept going pushing and scraping my way through the brush, hoping for a clear path to appear…but there was no sign of one. I couldn’t even figure out how to get back to the path I was on before I turned off. I shouted out, “I’m lost!” I heard nothing back from Rick. I was feeling a little scared at this point. I was heading the total opposite direction of where the car was. I couldn’t go back towards the parking lot because it was so far away. I saw a side road off in the distance that looked the closest to where I was, so I just kept heading that way. Every once in a while I would shout out, “Rick!” But never heard anything back. My legs were feeling wobbly like jello and shaking against my will….it seemed like I was having some kind of muscle spasm. I could hardly walk. I was also getting scratched by bushes, my big toe was throbbing and I was walking slow as molasses.

As I got halfway to the road, I saw Rick driving on that road! I waved my arms violently, jumping up and down, yelling his name!! RICK!! RICK!!  He kept driving oblivious to me. He drove away and headed back towards the parking lot. I was so frustrated and almost started to cry.  I kept pushing myself despite the frustration. FINALLY, I got to the road. As I reached the road, a woman in a red pick up truck stopped and asked me if I was ok. She asked me if I had fallen down. I guess by my hobbling and bloody scratch marks she came to that conclusion. I told her, no…and went on to explain the situation. She offered me a ride which I was apprehensive to decline. I assured her that my husband would be coming back for me eventually so I should stay put. 

I wasn't making much sense...but here's our text message
exchange.

I stood patiently on the road and even walked to the main road hoping to see a sign of Rick. I pulled out my cell phone and noticed he had called. I immediately called him back but the call kept getting declined/failed. I tried a dozen or more times. Finally I texted him and sent him a map of my whereabouts. No response. Then…I looked up the hill and saw that he was walking up yelling my name. I again jumped up and down, waved my arms, shouting his name… He kept walking up! He didn’t hear me. I could just imagine him cursing me with each step he took up the hill. About 5 minutes later, the woman in the red truck appeared again. I got her to honk her horn and that did the trick! Rick turned around and headed down the hill. I was finally confident that he would find me. I stood there talking to the woman in the red truck until I saw Rick make a turn onto the road. I was so happy to see him and Harley! But as he got a little closer and I could see his head shaking from side to side, lips pierced tightly….I was worried. I knew I was going to get an ear full! 

As soon as I got in the car, he said, “what the hell happened?!!!” So, I explained my drama and he explained his. Apparently the person he thought he saw breaking into the car, was a bush! And, he had actually hiked up and back two times since I disappeared looking for me. There was a Mexican couple he saw just about the same time the woman in the red truck honked her horn. He tried to ask them if they'd seen me somewhere along the way. Rick said they didn't understand a word of English. All they could do in response was to point down to where the noise of the horn honk came from. Voila! That's when he saw me. 

Red arrow points to where we made it to on our hike up Teta de Cabra

Fortunately our frustration turned into laughter as we rehashed the fiasco. We said that next time we go on a hike, we will wear a back pack, carrying water & snacks. We should wear the right shoes and that I should wear bright flourescent colors and wear a WHISTLE around my neck! HAHA

We were starving since our little fruit bowl we ate 7 hours prior, so we drove straight to the nearest restaurant and had lunch!

We ended our day with dinner at Sunset Bar & Grill for a special Valentine’s Dinner. It was one of the most memorable Valentine's Day I've ever had.